The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast

To paraphrase a couple of Avengers: You and I remember Beijing very differently. Around 1900, a group of kung fu practitioners in China who came to be known as "the Boxers" began assaulting just about any foreigners they could find. In response, an alliance of eight countries send expeditionary armies to China, where they in turn killed a good many and destroyed a great deal. Today, the event is painfully remembered in China but all but forgotten internationally. It's not even known by the same name in the Chinese-speaking world and outside of it. Yet you cannot understand modern China without knowing about it. And it is no coincidence that the membership of the alliance of the Eight Nations in 1900 is almost identical to the G7 in 2021...Support the show

Sex! One of the greatest works of fiction in Chinese literature, "The Plum in the Golden Vase," is also one of the most risqué. We discuss this Ming Dynasty novel alongside other works of erotic fiction, with comparisons to the Marquis de Sade (and references to China in his novel "Justine"), as well as James Joyce's maxim that true art hangs in suspension between didacticism and pornography.Support the show

In the early months of 1644, everything seemed to be crashing down upon Chongzhen. Fated to hang himself from a tree, the last emperor of the Ming Dynasty faced a massive domestic rebellion led by a proto-communist (and future role model for Chairman Mao) as well as invasion by the Manchus. Though an earnest man who tried his best, Chongzhen was simply not equipped to handle all of these challenges.And, as a 17th century man, he could not have possibly understood that behind many of his troubles lay the problem of global climate change...Support the show

Religion in Chinese culture contrasts sharply with religions in other civilizations. For one thing, many Chinese gods were flesh-and-blood human beings who came to be deified, unlike most ancient gods of Europe or the Middle East or Egypt. Mazu, the Goddess of the Sea, is one example. And today she is becoming the patron goddess of Taiwan. Alice tells us about the reporting she did this year on the annual Mazu Festival, which 300,000 Taiwanese attended.Another notable phenomenon is the historical belief that certain personalities, such as the poet Li Bai, might have been avatars of gods.But do people genuinely believe? We discuss the use of religion in politics. In contemporary Taiwan, politicians still sometimes claim to receive signs from Mazu. Historically, a general in the Song Dynasty who was thought to be a god's avatar happily exploited his troops' faith for his own purpose.Support the show

During his years on the throne, Louis XIV, the Sun King of France, longed to make the acquaintance of Emperor Kangxi of China. The two men had a great deal in common: they both acceded to the throne as young children, both for a time had no real power, and both went on to rule their respective countries well and for many decades. But whereas Louis waited for his chief minister to die of his own accord before assuming full control, a 14-year-old Kangxi plotted against his own regent, announcing to all the world what kind of emperor he would become...Support the show

Students of Chinese history know that Qin Shi Huang, the First Emperor and the founder of the Qin Dynasty, ended the Warring States Era and unified China in 221 B.C. But unification by the Kingdom of Qin could have, would have, and maybe should have happened four decades earlier. After launching a massive campaign in 262 B.C. against the neighboring Kingdom of Zhao, the Qin laid siege to the Zhao capital. It was poised to win dominion over the Central Plains.But, in that moment, three men--a butcher, a doorman, and a prince--faced the inexorable tide of history and said: "Not today."Support the show

Did a 3,000-year-old Chinese book of divination anticipate modern computer science? When a Jesuit missionary brought him a copy of the I Ching, or more properly Yi Jing, "The Book of Changes," the German mathematician Leibniz was deeply amazed. Some of his own work seemed already represented in its mysterious pages. And Leibniz was an era-defining genius in his own right. It would be nearly another three centuries before we were able to fully implement Leibniz's work, in these little machines that we now call "computers."Support the show

In the years immediately before and after 1,000 A.D., three generations of the Yang family, men and women, defended the northern borders of Song Dynasty China. Their (surprisingly feminist) legends have grown deeply ingrained in Chinese culture. And one story resonates particularly deeply among people of Taiwan of a particular generation and background.Support the show

The Three Kingdoms era following the collapse of the Han Dynasty was a pivotal period in Chinese history. Many Chinese traditions date to this time. And the many heroes that rose up like a rushing spring in this age of chaos are still revered. Indeed, names like Zhuge Liang and Guan Yu are still household names in East Asia just as names like Odysseus and Achilles are still known across Western culture. In this episode, I discuss why the parallels between the Three Kingdoms (and the 14th century novel that narrates that history) and Homer's Iliad are more than a coincidence.Support the show

In the 4th century B.C., a reclusive master of all trades and his four students shaped China's destiny.Support the show